Book reviews

A couple books I've read lately:

Every Secret Thing by Ann Tatlock--(sorry for the absence of a link, I don't quite know how to do them yet). Christian fiction about a woman in her 40s who goes back to teach at the school where she attended high school and ends up facing people and events from her past. I enjoyed reading this book--the characterizations were great and the plot was pretty good. It was not preachy or hokey; it was real. Until about the last 20 pages--it ended very abruptly with a not-so-believable plot twist, keeping it from being a great book. Still worth a read, an above-average Christian fiction (see earlier post).

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri--Story of a family that moves from India to America and how their life proceeds. I am conflicted about this one. She is an amazing writer-- even her minor characters and short events are fascinating. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Interpreter of Maladies, an earlier book, and people are talking about her new book, so I'm glad I've read something by her. In this one, I particularly enjoyed seeing the 60s and 70s through the eyes of Indian immigrants, something I hadn't ever considered. And I always like reading about New York. But--the life of the main character, Gogol, is very empty and (spoiler alert!) contains a string of doomed love affairs. Can I recommend (via my picks shelf at work) such a book--that contains actions I don't condone? In the end you see the results of a godless life, and they aren't pretty. Is that enough recommendation to spend time reading it though? My answer to this question (obviously not unique to this book) is--sometimes. I try to mix up my reading life so not everything I read has a nihilistic world view. What do you think?